28th January 2021

Remembering Margaux, fame ‘kills’….

philippanestie Culture, Fashion, Image

In the most recent Hello Fashion magazine under a section ‘Game Changers’ a blast from the past appeared on the page namely a face of great beauty and a life that ended in total tragedy. A haunting reminder of a life sadly lost. So who am I referring to? Margaux Hemingway the granddaughter of that eponymous writer Ernest, why my interest? Well I always remember her from my youth namely from the film Lipstick which I watched when about 13 & left a very disturbing yet lasting impression, also of course she headed the campaign for Babe perfume. I remember the TV advert “for you babe” (how I wished it was at the time!) but what is truly unforgettable is her immense beauty. When I watched Lipstick it stunned me, here I thought was someone who could take Hollywood by storm but it never happened…sadly her film career ended up in tatters. Tragically she was found dead by the age of 42 alone in her apartment reported to be a suicide. From the outside she had the world at her feet, so what went wrong? A great internal battle? Reliance on her looks to lift her from the mire which also didn’t happen?

I find this subject ever fascinating here was a young woman with incredibly captivating beauty, the first model to land a $1 million deal in America, covers on high fashion magazines, socialising at studio 54 with the top celebrities at the time, an esteemed and nobel prize winning grandfather. All sounds great doesn’t it?  Obviously the reality was very different echoing possibly the slammed film Lipstick which I do believe has its merits despite the criticism. Her character in the film Chris is also riding on a wave of career success, fame and total popularity as a fashion model. Yet she is brutally sexually assaulted in her apartment by her sister’s teacher who is portrayed to be strangely talented yet suffers from a lack of success and inferiority. He attacks her when she gets distracted by a phone call whilst listening to his music tape, her ignoring him incenses him with extreme anger and provokes a relentless assault.

That is what shocked me at the time about this film it was the first time I saw such scenes at a young age and I had empathy with not only the lead character but the younger sister in the film played by her real sister Mariel similar to my age at the time….Well the charge does get to court but he is found not guilty (reflecting what does/did happen often in these cases) then later on in the film when she is recovering and struggling to get back to work he attacks her sister whilst she was doing a photoshoot…enraged by this violation she immediately goes in search of him finds him and blasts him to oblivion by numerous gun shots. The film ends with her holding the gun, looking lost wearing a gorgeous shimmering red gown the red reflecting her anger and blood she just shed. Getting arrested she looks sad, stunned but doesn’t resist her body is limp with shell shock. This I felt very poignant to her real life here was a great beauty ultimately discarded by the fame hungry industries she endeavoured to conquer, which she did in fashion but the film industry career she sought eluded her despite many attempts, she was eventually overshadowed by her younger sister Mariel.

A legacy written in darkness with expectations maybe of somehow attaining greatness like Grandfather Ernest almost impossible who also committed suicide. So sad such talent should go to waste so I’m glad of the reminder of a life lost and to remember her by her many documented struggles her birthday would have been on the 16th February not far away now so I will raise a glass to her then.

Adieu Margaux and rest in peace.